The Complicated Mind of Squidward
by zxcraous
Summary: This is my third piece. Squidward goes to a psychiatrist to solve his problems with his neighbors. This story is INCOMPLETE since I'm working on it... but chapter 5 is finally here!
1. Chapter 1

"I'm here to see Dr. Fin," the octopus told the secretary.

"He's been waiting for you all day! You've really intrigued him with your _predicament_. . ."

She pointed to his office which was all the way at the end of a creepy corridor. Screams were heard in some rooms while very serene voices were audible in others. _I hope I made the right choice to come here, but my doctor did say I needed this, so why not? _the patient thought. Squidward had tried other specialists before. Dr. Fin stood out from the others, though. It is quite the honor to be recommended by another doctor who's read of the fascinating things you've done.

"Come in, Mr. Tentacles," a very deep voice spoke.

The office was filled with certificates from any place imaginable. _This guy better know what to do for me,_ another thought popped in Squidward's head.

"Well, of course I will! I was recommended for you, and I have met people just like you," the doctor read his thoughts.

"Wow, you're good. Thank you for taking the time to hear my story."

"So, when did it all begin?"

_It was a wonderful morning just like any other. I was planning to finish my sacred garden the day "it" started. My garden was the best in town with its encircling flowers and homemade statues. While a woman was walking down my street with a very melancholy looking man, I looked up and screamed. A giant pineapple was going to land right on top of my garden! Suddenly, I was crushed._

_ Good thing I had had my tools with me to get out. I cut a hole that just _had _to be the size of an ordinary threshold. After that, I just collapsed on the ground. _

_ "I'll take it!" the now happy man told the woman._

_ Turns out she had been a realtor. After handing off a large sack of money, the man approached me and embraced me. _

_ "Hi, my name's Spongebob Squarepants, and we're going to be the best of friends!"he grinned._

_ My other neighbor, Patrick Star, came out and just _had _to know this guy. Great._

"Well, that's the beginning of it," Squidward frowned.

"Interesting. So far, I really see no problem, though. What's so bad about those two?"

"They annoy me all day long. It kills me!"

"I see. What do they do in particular?"

"They go jelly fishing, they loudly play games outside, and they sneak into my house."

"Anything else?"

"The list is _way_ too long."

"Your problem is your uptightness. Tell me, have you ever wanted to do what they do?"

"I've found myself doing that stuff in my dreams," his skin crawled.

"Why not give it a go?"

Squidward was relaxing back at home. _I knew he was going to say that,_ he thought. Squidward couldn't tell you how many psychiatrists told him to join them. Was it really what he needed to do?

"HEY SQUIDWARD!"

Great, the little menace had to be here now. Just what Squidward had ordered.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" he replied through the door.

Not wanting to shout anymore, the sponge opened the door and asked, "Want to go jelly fishing?"

"NO! LISTEN TO ME CLOSELY: I DO NOT LIKE YOU. I HATE YOU! SPENDING TIME WITH YOU IS THE LAST THING I WOULD _EVER_ SEE MYSELF DOING!"

Well, he finally got out to the optimistic sponge. The poor thing started crying. Squidward couldn't get past the guilt this time.

"Sponge, I'm sorry. I am not really happy right now, _like I ever am_, so please, stop crying," he shocked himself by saying that.

"Poor Squidward! What's the matter, buddy?" he sniffed.

"I don't want to talk about it. Please, just go."

Actually respecting his neighbor's personal space, Spongebob went on his way back home. _Dr. Fin was right; I need to loosen up,_ Squidward admitted to himself. He couldn't believe what he was about to do after thinking that. He walked over to the pineapple and knocked very softly.

"Squidward? What are you doing here? Are you still sad?" Spongebob asked worriedly.

"I actually want to go jelly fishing… do you have an extra net?"

The smile on Spongebob's face was so big that it barely fit on his square head.

"Sure! Hold on a second and we'll go!"

Jellyfish Fields was beautiful. The long grass tickled Squidward's legs and the sun set was gorgeous (even though it reminded him of Spongebob's false close-to-death experience, which still made him upset). Jelly fishing was pretty easy for Squidward since he was so tall that no jelly fish could get out of his reach.

"Having fun, Squidward?" Spongebob called from a little distance away.

"Actually, yes. I needed this, thanks."

A smile started to grow on the cephalopod's face. Then, his thoughts started to fight back: _What are you doing with this goofball in Jellyfish Fields?_ He stopped. Realization shot through his brain like a bullet. What had he been thinking? No matter how hard he tried, he could never let loose forever.

"Something the matter, Squiddy?" Spongebob tapped his tentacle.

"Yes. That was fun while it lasted, but I could never do this forever. Thanks anyways, Spongebob," he sulked back home.

_What were you thinking, Squidward? Being happy like that does not work for you forever,_ his thoughts incessantly scolded him. It was true that eventually Squidward would crack and make Spongebob sad again. Good thing he saved it by covering it up with sadness. Yes, he at least had guilt for upsetting the vermillion sea creature. Wow, emotions really killed him. Why couldn't he just be normal?

"Back so soon?" Dr. Fin looked concerned.

"I'm afraid so. I tried what you said, but it will just endanger everyone."

"Can you elaborate a smidge?"

"I went jelly fishing with the neighbor I told you about and my thoughts got the best of me. I had already snapped at him which I still feel upset about, so I decided to just leave."

"Emotions really change you. Right now you sound completely different from the other time," the doctor put a hand to his chin.

"So what can I do about this?"

"Would you mind talking to your neighbor about this issue?"

"Yes. I don't want you to be tortured by him too!"

"Shall I tell him with you gone?"

"No. He probably wouldn't even understand."

"How about we try a more scientific approach?"

"What do you mean?"

"I could create a laser or a ray of some sort to make you more like your neighbor."

"WHAT?!"


	2. Chapter 2

Spongebob woke up that next day, happy as usual.

"Ahh, what a beautiful morning!"

Since he was so punctual, he went right down stairs to do his daily routine. After eating and feeding Gary, he jumped in the shower with all of his clothes on.

_"It's the best day ever, (best day ever)…"_ he sang while he scrubbed soap all over himself.

Within a couple minutes, Spongebob was on his way to the Krusty Krab. _I can't wait to cook more Krabby patties today,_ he grinned. Since his excitement could not be restrained, he jogged the rest of the way to work.

"Hi Squidward!" he chirped when he entered.

His eyes became very large when he looked over at the cashier boat. No one was there.

"MR. KRABS! SQUIDWARD HAS GONE MISSING!" he was banging on his boss' door.

"He called in a while ago. He'll be back to work tomorrow," Mr. Krabs motioned his employee out.

_Poor Squidward,_ the diminutive sponge thought, _where is he?_

The metal table was freezing cold. The procedure had been a success. Dr. Fin was not in the room at the moment. Suddenly, the octopus woke up.

"Where am I?" he asked the room. "Oh yeah, I had to have that procedure done."

Dr. Fin entered the room, "Did you sleep well?"

"I sure did. So why did you have to do this again?"

"I had to have Dr. Fish (the surgeon I called in last minute) remove part of your frontal lobe so I could send it to the lab. Once it is received, the doctors there will cleanse it, which should make you more like your sweet and innocent neighbor. Then, that part of your brain will be put into a ray which I will shoot you with."

"Wow, that's complex. Well, if it helps me, knock yourself out."

Dr. Fin felt a vibration against his leg. He picked up his pager, "The lab just received it. We may have this ready for you by tonight, so just go home and wait for the call."

"Thanks a bunch, doctor."

You could imagine how sad Spongebob was without his pal Squidward at work. Having the chance to work the cash register didn't even make up for it.

"I hope you're alright, Squidward," Spongebob's eyes welled up with tears.

_If he's sick, maybe I should go over there after work,_ his tears faded instantly at the idea. Wanting to know a little more on why Squidward wasn't at work, the sponge went into the office next to the kitchen.

"What do you want, boy?" his boss was snuggling with a stack of cash.

"Do you know _why_ Squidward couldn't show today?"

"He mentioned a medical procedure, I think."

_Oh no! Poor Squiddy must be worse than I thought!_ Spongebob returned to his station.

The vibe in Squidward's house was actually peaceful that day. Since the procedure took a lot out of him, Squidward relaxed so much. _This is the life, except for the pain,_ Squidward grinned.

"This is what you deserve, Squidward," he spoke to himself, "a day to recover. Soon, you will have a life with no worries or _anything_!"

He decided to make himself some hot chocolate. As the chocolate danced within the water, a sweet aroma filled the kitchen. For a little treat, two marshmallows plummeted to their simmering doom in the moss-colored mug. "House Fancy" was going to be on at a certain time, so the octopus looked at the clock. It was six o'clock. _"House Fancy" will be on in an hour, _Squidward thought, _and Spongebob is probably just getting out of work. Hopefully I won't miss the call from Dr. Fin. . . ._

_ Knock, knock, knock._ Great, Spongebob was at the door.

"What do you want, Spongebob?" he opened the door.

"Oh, Squiddy, you're okay! I was so worried when I heard that you had gotten surgery!"

"I'm fine, kelp for brains, just let me rest."

Of course, Spongebob went on ignoring his "best friend" and entered his house. "I just said I didn't want you here!" Squidward shouted.

"I want to make you comfortable! Want something to eat?"

"Spongebob, I'm fine, I can take care of myself."

_Ring, ring, ring._ Squidward ran for the phone.

"Hello?"

Murmuring came from the other line.

"Yes, I will be there right away, thank you," he hung up the phone.

"Who was that, Squidward?"

"None of your business. I've got to go, so _please_ leave."

After throwing his neighbor out of his house, Squidward walked into town and reached Dr. Fin's office.

"Squidward Tentacles?" the secretary called.

"The one and only," he replied.

He stepped down the same creepy corridor (with the same screams and calming voices) and entered the same room.

"Are you ready for this, Mr. Tentacles?"

The concern of Squidward's whereabouts had kept Spongebob up for a while. So this morning, he was lethargic. Once he had rushed through his morning duties, he made his way to the Krusty Krab, realizing Squidward had already made his way to work.

"Nice to see you back, Squiddy!" Spongebob smiled and embraced the octopus.

Oddly, Squidward didn't push him away. Spongebob looked up, and almost jumped out of his skin. Squidward, the grumpy and depressed sea creature, was _smiling_ and _hugging Spongebob back_. "Are you feeling okay, Squidward?"

"I've never been better!"

This could not be happening. Spongebob screamed and retreated to Mr. Krabs' office.

"Mr. Krabs, Squidward is being really weird today!"

"I know, he's actually being nice to customers and he actually offered to take the graveyard shift for you!"

How could this be possible?

"Did he mention where he was last night?"

"No, but he'll probably be _glad_ to tell you!" the crab grinned.

Spongebob stepped outside to do so, "Hey Squidward?"

"Yes, Spongebob?" he smiled from ear to ear.

"Where were you last night?"

"I went to re-visit my psychiatrist, Dr. Fin."

"You have a psychiatrist?" the sponge put a hand to his chin.

"Yes, and he was so helpful. He made me _happy_!"

_Okay, this happy Squidward is SUPER CREEPY! _Spongebob thought.

"Why did you do this to yourself? I liked you just as you were," Spongebob frowned.

"_I_ didn't like myself before. My social skills were bleak, I was such a _jerk_ to you, and it goes from there," Squidward shuttered at the memories.

The sponge started to cry. This new Squidward was not natural. Sure, Squidward hated himself before, but this needed to be fixed _naturally_ with help from Spongebob, not by _surgery_!

"Where is his office?" he dried his tears (with help from Squidward who had hugged him and cheered him up) and took out a notepad.

"Spongebob Squarepants?" the secretary said.

"That's me," he gulped.

Knowing Spongebob, he was scared out of his square pants when he went down the hallway to Dr. Fin's room. Finally, he came across his door. "Dr. Fin?"

"Hello, you must be Spongebob!" he grinned warmly.

"Yes, I am Squidward's neighbor."

"Oh, he's mentioned you here before. What brings you by?"

_Squidward mentioned me here? Why?_

"I don't like the new Squidward. This was the wrong thing to do. If I had known of his troubles, I could've helped him naturally! Can you change him back?"

"Yes, but he will have to agree with this. Get him over here pronto. Since you're so willing to help him, you may as well come back with him."

After getting Squidward (with no difficulty) and going down the terrifying hallway, the two were in the doctor's office.

"Hello, Mr. Tentacles, and welcome back."

"It's good to be back, Dr. Fin. Especially with Spongebob here!" he smiled.

_"This is not him at all! Please convince him!" _the sponge leaned in and whispered to the doctor.

"Spongebob and I have been talking, and he tells me that he liked you before you were shot by the ray."

"I realized that, and I respect his opinion, but I don't know. _I_ like myself as a happy person, like right now."

"Care to explain a little?"

"Well, I never was liked that much throughout my life. Happiness and opening up to people is not my cup of tea. So, what could I do but surgery?"

"Squiddy, I know you want to be happy, and I can still make that happen. I offer to help you naturally, but we'll need to change you back first."

The octopus hesitated, "Okay… I'll do it for Spongebob."

Within minutes, Squidward was under anesthesia. Spongebob stayed the whole time, being the good friend he was. Plus, he wanted to be around to jump up and hug him once he was awake. Even though it was creepy when Squidward was happy, Spongebob wanted to do anything that would make Squidward more comfortable in his lifetime. During the surgery, he bit his fingertips, worried for the poor creature. Spongebob eventually fell asleep in a chair in the waiting room.

"Spongebob, wake up!" Squidward yelled as Spongebob's eyes shot open.

"Squidward, you're okay!" he jumped up and hugged his neighbor tightly.

Like old times, he was pushed away.

"Don't touch me. Come on, Dr. Fin says he has to talk to us, and _fortunately for me_, you have to tag along."

There they were again, back in the tiny room.

"I can see it was a success," Dr. Fin observed.

"Why are we here?" the octopus asked.

"Spongebob's going to help you be happy in a natural way."

"How is he going to do that?" the two turned to the sponge.

"I may have an idea, but I may want to consult you first, Dr. Fin."

Squidward was taken out of the room.

_"What's your plan?" _Dr. Fin whispered.

_"I was thinking that I could try taking him out to the fields again."_

_ "Well, it is a very nice place. I recommend you talk about some good times you've had with him, or anything happy."_

_ "Thanks, doc."_

Spongebob took Squidward's hand and they left the office. Of course, Squidward slipped his hand out of his grasp. "When do you want to start doing this counseling stuff?" Spongebob queried.

"Not tonight. I am _way_ too tired. Tomorrow, then," Squidward sighed.

Eventually, the neighbors made it home and went to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

_It was so colorful here. Orange walls, green floors, and flower shaped furniture were everywhere. When a figure appeared, it all made sense to Squidward. Spongebob was dressed in a lab coat._

_ "Please be seated, Mr. Tentacles," he spoke._

_ "Is this a dream?"_

_ "You tell me," Spongebob glowered into the creature's eyes._

_ "Okay, this is really creepy. So why are _you_ here?"_

_ The now-sophisticated sponge laughed, "I'm here to help you be happy,"_

_ "In my dreams?"_

_ "No more side talk, let's get to business."_

_ Suddenly, whispering was audible in the room. Spongebob's voice couldn't be heard anymore. The whispering turned into a loud clamor of screams. Just like the screams Squidward heard on his way to Dr. Fin's room._

_ "AAAH! HELP ME!" the voices screamed in unison._

_ "What? Help who? What's going on?"_

_ Now, the disturbing "more" Mr. Krabs appeared and pushed the helpless octopus into a black hole. This was no ordinary black hole. The black hole he was in was the one The Flying Dutchman had pushed him into. _

_ "AAAAH!" the voices reverberated Squidward's shrieks. _

"AAAAH!" Squidward woke up.

Luckily, it was morning. Sunday morning, to be exact. _It was only a dream, everything will be fine,_ he reassured himself. _Knock, knock, knock._ Squidward went downstairs (still dressed in his night shirt) to answer the door. To his surprise, no one was there. Shrugging it off, he retreated back up to his bedroom to change.

"OH MY GOSH!" a figure stood in his bedroom. "SPONGEBOB! YOU SCARED ME TO DEATH!"

"Sorry, Squidward. I knocked on the window, but you went downstairs."

"Don't you think _most people_ would expect the knocking to come from their _front door_?"

The sponge shrugged.

"So, why are you here?" he shuttered as he realized that was an exact quote from his dream.

"Since you just had surgery _again_, I decided to make you some breakfast!"

"Knock yourself out," it was always so weird how Spongebob did these things while Squidward acted like a complete jerk.

"Before I do the _knocking out_," he giggled, "what would you like?"

"Scrambled eggs, toast with jelly fish jelly, pancakes, and be _quick_ about it."

"Aye, aye, captain!"

The energetic younger man ran down the stairs and into the kitchen. _I wonder how he's going to help me . . . but I may as well give it a shot, even though I probably won't like it. _After two minutes or so, the house started to smell like heaven. Thank Neptune Spongebob was a whiz in the kitchen!

"Spongebob, where's my food?!" the grumpy character exclaimed.

_"Almost finished!"_ he sang.

Spongebob came up the stairs, took Squidward's hand, and raced down the stairs again.

"Watch it! You could have hurt me!"

He ignored him as the delicious smell of food became intoxicating. Squidward was put under its spell too. No one could have resisted taking a bite out of this, except for Spongebob. He wanted to let his neighbor eat and recover. "Wow that smells amazing, I have to admit."

Spongebob grinned at Squidward's rare kind words. Not able to wait any longer, Squidward began to eat. Usually he ate slowly, but this was different; he must've eaten everything in five minutes.

"Did you like it? _Hmmmm_?" Spongebob was still smiling.

"Yeah, thanks… Why do you do these things when I act like such a jerk to you?"

_This is probably going to be the most serious conversation I've ever had with Spongebob (like I've ever had one with him before). And I feel so out of character . . . was this part of his strategy to make me happier? I do feel a lot better . . . but this surely can't be all. Food would just make me obese and I'd be depressed yet again. Let's see what he says._

"I know you don't really like me, but it's kind of the neighbor's code. Plus, I really need to help you know since Dr. Fin told me to go through with step one of my plan."

_Wow, he actually did get through his head that I don't like him. Maybe he actually does listen to what I say . . . _

"Was this step one?"

"No. It seems to me that it didn't take that much to make you happier. Well, I should ask: why were you so freaked out this morning?"

"I might as well tell you, I guess. Last night, I had a terrifying dream . . ." he told the story as it was.

"What did you think I was going to do?" he lightly chuckled.

"I don't know . . . well, when exactly are we going to go through step one today?"

"I'll let you get dressed first, then just tell me when you're ready," he walked out of the house.

_I can't believe how I'm being nice to him. He is actually being MATURE. Maybe this was the right thing to do . . . Wow, emotions really DO change me. So, once I'm happy, I guess I'll be nicer, too? Probably. _

It was time for the octopus to get himself together. To start, he stepped in the shower. He was still blown away by Spongebob's behavior from earlier. Squidward's anger and uptightness just made him yell at him a lot. Spongebob really never did anything wrong, he would never think of it. Of course, he could be loud, but that isn't a crime.

_"La da dee, la da doo, la da dum . . ."_

_I'm so curious about what this step one is . . . is he going to try to get me another happiest memory like before? I don't think he should try that again . . . I went crazy. When I did, though, he seemed to like it. Yes, that guy is still weird to me. He was dropped on his head as a baby. Well, I'll just have to wait and find out his real strategy._

Now, he pulled on a towel and brushed his teeth. When he looked in the mirror, he saw not a smile, but a natural frown. _I am TOTALLY not through the woods yet . . ._ After doing everything he had to do, Squidward was ready with his brown un-buttoned shirt on him.

"Let's see how this goes . . ." he stepped outside.

He was actually kind of nervous. Was he that far gone that he needed a psychiatrist _and_ extra help just to make himself eternally happy? He had had a rough life, though. Just like any ordinary and depressed bully, he made himself feel better by putting rain on other's parades. No wonder he hated himself. "Just go with the flow, and _try_ to like something, for once."

Squidward knocked on his neighbor's door.

"Hello Squidward! Are you ready?"

He sighed, "I suppose so."

To make it a surprise, Squidward was blindfolded. "If you make me fall, I am _out of here_." He was back to his grumpy state already. After a little bit of walking, they stopped.

"Okay, you can take it off."

They were back in Jellyfish Fields. Squidward was unsure of this since the last time they were there he had realized he couldn't stay happy for so long.

"Are you sure about this?"

"I know you weren't doing so well the last time you were here, but Dr. Fin agreed to this."

Squidward nodded and sat down. Just like last time, the grass tickled him.

"Now what exactly are we going to do?"

"I want you to think of a nice memory. How about the one where you went on a rampage when I threw you that surprise party? That surely looked like a good time," Spongebob sat down too.

Spongebob had trapped him in a box and carried him to the Krusty Krab. Since no one wanted to show up (not even Patrick), Spongebob made paper-mâché models of himself and managed to fill up the whole restaurant with them. Anger, as usual, got the best of Squidward and the rampage commenced. At the end, Spongebob ended that day with a creepy sentence, "He's so handsome."

Squidward never paid much mind to it, but he had heard it.

"That was a _crazy_ day," Squidward laughed.

"I was so glad for you. Even though you were tearing up my work, it was worth it."

_Oh Neptune, he better not make this awkward. Please, Spongebob, do NOT mention what you said at the end!_

"At the end, I said something—" Squidward put a tentacle over his mouth.

"Please, let's just stick to the beginning and middle."

_Phew. I do NOT want him admitting anything weird. I will throw up._

"Okay . . . so you felt happy, of course. Did you feel 'on top of the world'?"

"Yes. Please, stay away from the puns."

Spongebob figured it out and started to laugh. Squidward just sighed.

"_Why_ did you feel that way?"

"It was because I got to take out my anger on something."

"Interesting. So why don't you just buy a stress relieving toy?"

Wow, that was easy. Squidward took his advice and bought one. He went to work the next day and brought it with him.

"Mr. Squidward, you're back to normal . . ." Mr. Krabs frowned.

"I sure am. Don't worry, I have a little something to help me out," he lifted up the rubber toy.

"It better work. Now, get ready for the customers!"


	4. Chapter 4

"Can I take your order?" the first customer arrived.

"Yeah, I'll have . . ." the fish pulled out her reading glasses.

"Having some reading trouble?"

Why did he have to deal with this now? That board is _so big_, how can she not read it?

"Yes, I have _awful_ vision."

_"Didn't take me long to figure that out,"_ he mumbled to himself.

It must've been fifteen minutes and she was still squinting at the board. _Just stay calm, _he thought. "Have you ever been here before?"

"No, so I don't really know what to have anyways," she put a fin to her chin, "what would you get?"

He had dealt with someone who asked him the same thing. Even though Spongebob knew he _loved_ Krabby patties, he didn't want to tell the public.

"Nothing. Does it look like I eat here?"

The fish gave him an odd look, "I think I'll take my business _elsewhere_!"

"MR. SQUIDWARD! GET IN HERE!"

Mr. Krabs was already onto him.

"What, Mr. Krabs?" Squidward sat down.

"_You know what._ You're letting money walk out the door!"

Unfortunately, Squidward had left his stress toy in the boat. He _really_ needed it.

"She was so _annoying_! I bet you didn't even see her!"

"I did see her, and that changes nothing. You have to _earn money_ for me, not let it go '_elsewhere_'!"

Squidward was fuming. He returned to his post and squeezed his stress reliever really tight. Then, it went flying and hit some customers in the face.

"MY LEG!" one screamed.

"Squidward! What happened?" Spongebob asked from behind.

"Your _solution_ happened!"

"MR. SQUIDWARD! GET BACK IN HERE THIS INSTANT!"

"THAT WAS SPONGEBOB'S FAULT!" his shout filled the room and reverberated.

"Well, if you actually listened to him and bought it, it's _your_ fault."

_How stubborn could one crab be?_

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it now!"

"There's still your _punishment_. Go clean the toilets, Mr. Squidward!"

Good thing the bathrooms weren't as dirty today. Actually, they were spotless.

_"You're welcome, Squidward,"_ Spongebob stepped in, whispered to him, and stepped out.

_Thank goodness,_ he thought, _there is nothing I hate more than cleaning the bathrooms._ Now, he was back in his boat with a magazine in hand. _What am I going to do now? I guess I should go back to Dr. Fin . . ._

Well, he was back where this story began, in Dr. Fin's office, still not cured.

"It was working, and I had purchased a stress reliever, and it didn't make my day at work less stressful."

"Oh gosh, we're going backwards. How did Spongebob do?"

"I never realized he had maturity. He did well, but his plan failed, as you know. Now what?"

"Let's try hypnosis," he took off his gold watch and attached it to string.

"_Hypnosis?_ You, a well known psychiatrist, actually _believe_ that it works?"

"It does work. I would know, since I'm a psychiatrist!"

He sighs, "Fine. You _are_ the doctor . . ."

_Should I still trust this guy?_

"Now, lay back. Relax," he started swinging the watch back and forth. "You are getting very sleepy . . ."

It was working. Squidward's eyelids got _really_ heavy. Before he knew it, he was in a deep sleep.

_"Huh? Where am I?"_

_ He was surrounded by darkness. There were four doors a little walk away, and one of them was GIANT. He decided to enter the closest one. It was dark in there too._

_ "Hello?"_

_ Then, he looked down. There was a hole right by him, which he could probably squeeze into. After doing so, he fell until landing on his butt. It was very bright down there. Now, there were portals. The first one was him on his rampage._

_He stayed and watched long enough to hear Spongebob say that odd line again. Embarrassed, he ran to the next portal. The next one was of Squidward dancing when Spongebob had to move with his parents. After seeing some more clips, he noticed a pattern: he was happy in all of these. No wonder there were only a few. Suddenly, he accidentally stepped on a button and was back to the doors._

_Once he had gone through the smaller doors, the biggest one was last, but not least. Carefully, he pulled open the double doors and was engulfed in flames._

"_AAAH!"_

_This was definitely the "angry door". There was no question why it was the biggest. When he got through a portion of the interminable amount of portals, he started to feel bad. In the majority of the ones he saw, Spongebob would be upset or close to it. Squidward had to leave. _

"When I snap my fingers, you will wake up," then he snapped.

Squidward came out of his coma-like state and shed a tear. "Squidward? Are you okay?"

"I'm fighting with my emotions, so all I can think to do is cry!" tears flowed down his pale face.

Dr. Fin patted his patient's back.

"I know how you feel. My other hypnosis patients felt the same way. I've always wondered why they do . . . do you mind telling me?"

"I 'woke up' in darkness. There were these doors that contained my memories of being happy, sad, angry, and those other emotions. What made me personally upset was seeing what a jerk I am towards my neighbor just because I am in distress . . ."

"I wonder if they went to this 'emotion world,'" he jotted down some notes. "So do you feel changed?"

"Yes, _very_ changed."

"I think you should head home. Take some time to think about all of this."

Back at home the cephalopod was, wrapped up in a nice blanket. _That was quite the experience, and all it took was a basic look in the past,_ Squidward thought.

Spongebob was relaxing at home, too. He felt bad about not being able to help his neighbor. Even though he wanted to talk to Squidward, he didn't want to get back into the whole emotional conversation. Plus, he didn't know if Squidward was home.

"Gary, it must be so easy to be a pet snail, no worries at all," he said.

"Meow, meow," Gary replied.

"Well, that is true, but you aren't lost. You have everything done for you while I have to work, buy things, and help people," as he said his last two words, he looked out the window.

Gary dismissed himself and went upstairs. Spongebob needed a distraction, so he turned on "Mermaidman and Barnacle Boy."

_"You'll never get away with it, Man Ray!" Mermaidman was chasing the villain._

_ "Oh yes I will!"_

_ "Stop right there!" Barnacle Boy popped up in front of Man Ray and tripped him._

_ "Why'd you do it?" Mermaidman asked._

_ "I never won anything as a kid, so I thought I'd be able to as a villain . . . my past was no good!"_

Spongebob shut off the TV. This was only making him think about Squidward more, since his neighbor's past "was no good" either. Unable to think of anything else to do, he headed to his bathroom to prepare for bedtime.

Squidward was torn. Books were no help, the radio's music was too sad, and he had no inspiration to paint anything amazing. Playing the clarinet would just pierce his ears since he was terrible (he figured this out from the portals). Why couldn't he just _forget_ everything and be calm? Would he ever be able to do such a thing? He sighed.

"Well, Squidward, I guess the only way to make it through the night is to go to sleep," he decided.

That experience left him feeling even more bewildered. After pulling on his night shirt and brushing his teeth, he pulled on his night mask and attempted to fall asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

_The biggest portal (the one filled with Squidward's anger) was the only thing in the "emotional world" this time. With no other choice, Squidward stepped in and took a closer look around. Again, the octopus had to face the constant welling of Spongebob's blue eyes. It was hard to watch each time, considering there were endless memories everywhere. While looking at another clip of Spongebob almost crying, a feeling of warmth surrounded Squidward's body. He was falling now, and it was very bright down below. _

_ "So, you finally made it," it was the Devil._

_ "Wha-what am I doing here? Where am I?" the terrified sea creature was being held over a tub of boiling lava._

_ "This is your final resting place, of course."_

_ "You mean I'm going to plummet down here when I die?"_

_ "Wasn't that hard to figure out. You must've seen this coming before, take a look at yourself!"_

_ Squidward was frozen with terror. Now, death was so much scarier. He had never thought of it before (well, not this realistically). Just because he couldn't change his attitude, he would fry in hell and be served to humans as any ordinary serving of calamari. Even though this was a dream, it was truly his fate in the future. _

Spongebob's sleep wasn't very good. If he managed to get to sleep, he dreamt of his neighbor, bawling. When he was in the dream, he was portrayed as the bully, the one who made matters worse. So, when he woke up this morning, his standards for work preparation were horribly low; being late for work didn't compare to the life-long suffering of Squidward. Today, he almost missed his chance to walk with Squidward. The two didn't talk for the first couple steps.

"How did you sleep?" the sponge broke the silence.

"Not well… how about you?"

"Me too. I had a lot on my mind…"

"So did I."

It was pretty awkward the rest of the way, the two acting quite out of character.

"Morning boys," Mr. Krabs opened the glass doors.

"Hi," the two slowly walked to their stations.

"What's up with you two today? Squidward, you seem even worse than usual! Spongebob, you are like a completely different person! Anything bothering you?"

"It's complicated," Spongebob quickly replied.

With that, it was Mr. Krabs' time to go back into his office. Luckily for the two crestfallen spirits, no customers were in sight (considering how ludicrous it would be for people to want a burger for breakfast). It was awfully quiet in the establishment. "Okay, we might as well talk about what's on our minds."

"Sure, it's better than re-reading these old magazines," Squidward gave a very sad chuckle.

"So, I know my plans aren't working."

"You've got that right. Well, I went back to him yesterday."

"What did he say?"

"Actually, he used hypnosis on me, and it really spoke to me… but now I have a large wall of guilt."

The sponge sighed. _The poor guy,_ Spongebob thought, _I failed him._

"I'm sorry…"

"No, I am. The guilt is for all the things I've done to you…"

_Now he's even more depressed than before… it's all my fault!_

"This is all so difficult… how am I supposed to help you?"

"Don't bother. I'm taking a nap."

This was quite the puzzle, and Spongebob needed to solve it. Dr. Fin had ideas, but they didn't exactly do the trick. _Okay, I'll think this through. He's upset and grumpy, very lonely, and he can be very dependent. _An idea popped into the sponge's head, but would it work?

"Spongebob Squarepants," the secretary called.

"That's me."

Again, he was consulting Dr. Fin about his idea. "Dr. Fin?"

"Hello, Spongebob, take a seat."

"I may have a way to help Squidward through his troubles, and it was right in front of us all along."

The doctor nodded, "Proceed."

"I kind of made an equation about it. We know he's upset, grumpy, lonely, and dependent at times so all he really needs is…"

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I know it's kind of cruel, but I'm going to stop this chapter mid-sentence for a little bit of suspense. Don't worry; I'll probably update this as soon as I get the chance since I'm on vacation!


End file.
